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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. charge — in control
  6. cell — a phone
  7. net — in sport
  8. firm — steady
  9. charge — electricity
  10. net — for catching
  11. club — for dancing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. club — for golf
  14. charge — a price
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. firm — a company
  18. kid — child
  19. firm — decided
  20. cell — in biology
  21. net — after costs
  22. kid — to tease
  23. club — a group
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com